need some support i broke down crying

[mel1980]

ok well after all this and im in severe pain i left the er in tears they did nothing for me and now i have to contact the ins adjuster and let him know i went to the er because i was in severe pain and no one cares why???????? how can they do this to me i need someone who is compasionate to my pain all these drs care about is making a dam buck

[Bummer Knees]

Mel

Sometimes crying is a good thing as it help with stress relief.

On the off topic area of the forum is a thread that Still In Limbo started about the stages of loss. Limbo did a wonderful job sharing the emotions he experienced wtih his injury, reading this thread has helped me greatly, please read it and let me know what you think.

If I find the thread I will post the name for you.

[Bummer Knees]

Admin - I hope it is okay to do a copy/paste of this thread.

Mel, this is the thread I told you about.

...................................................................................................
By Still In Limbo

Injury, Dismay, Anger, Knowledge,Frustration and then Acceptance!!

I Hope that all of You don't mind a bit of Rambling, but with everything going on in My Life right Now, I've had to make a number of Life Changing decisions lately, and I thought I would share these in Hopes that if ONE Person can Benefit from ONE Thing I have been through, this Damn injury that will effect Me Forever won't be for naught, and I can start My change into trying to think of this as a Positive, and not the Negative it has been for the Last Three Years. This will be a bit Long, and if You don't want to take the time to read this I understand, I just have to get this Out, and I don't want to Burden My Family, but maybe, just maybe, this can Help some of You! Thanks in advance for listening to My Thoughts, some of them could only be understood by the Injured, and I Hope this in some way Helps, I know it will Help Me to get this Out!!

All of Our Injuries happened in Different ways, at different Times in our Lives, and with Our Own set of Personal Problems being included with Our Injuries, Problems we may have had before We were Injured. But I think one thing for all of Us stayed pretty much the same, when We were injured, at first, all we wanted was to get ourselves Better and Back to Work, We didn't want the w/c System in Our Lives, We only wanted fair and expedient Medical Care, to Heal, and Return to what we were doing before the Injury. For probably a good number of People that is exactly what they received, and Thank God they went on with their Lives, and then there is this Group of Folks on this Site, many for the Most Part did NOT Receive the Care We needed, and in a Timely Fashion, and that's why we're here, to try and learn from each other and somehow find a way to get on with our Lives. I really don't think it matters too much what State We are all from, We all share a common link, w/c has NOT performed as they should have, whether the Employer or the i/c caused the Problems and set-backs, nonetheless, Here We set, some with Attorneys, some Without, trying to figure out WHY and HOW on God's Green Earth are We being treated the Way we are, not getting the Care We need, and Constantly having to Battle for everything from Tests, to receiving the Meds. we need, to seeing the Dr.'s We need to, and having the Surgical Procedures We Need to get Better! Constantly Fighting Paper work and sub-standard follow-up and Care, fearful of what the next Phone Call or Letter may tell us, and wondering if Our Checks are going to arrive on Time, if at all! This Section is what I Call the DISMAY Area of this Journey, just trying to Survive, all the while wondering Why We were picked out of ALL of the Injured Workers out there to be Treated the way we are, and what did We do to deserve such cold and sub-standard Care??


And then We find a Site as Great as this one is, and we start to develop Conversation with other Injured Workers from all walks of Life, in Different States and Levels of Injury and Care, different Ages, and We slowly come to see that We are not the only Ones out there being treated Poorly, it seems to be everywhere!! Through our Conversations and Learning experience on here, we come to find Out that the Entire W/C System is flawed, not just in Your State but in ALL of them, and we start to wonder, "How can this System treat an Injured Worker this Way?", all We did was go to Work to provide for Our Families, We weren't negligent in Our Duties, We were just Injured, and all We want to do is to be taken Care of in an expedient and fair fashion, given Time to Heal, and to Return to Work! And as We have come to find out, the system would rather spend Millions of Dollars trying to deny Care and Acknowledgment of Our Injuries, than to Treat Us, and this is about the Time the ANGER Phase kicks in, and We start to realize that we are not Human to the System, We are a Case Number and a File, a Liability to the i/c that needs to be dealt with and tossed aside if Possible, and We start to realize that if We want anything to happen for the Betterment of Ourselves and Our Families, We are going to Have to Protect Our Rights as an Injured Worker, and the only way to do that is by Learning a System not one of us even want to be dealing with, get involved Personally in the Process, Learn all We can to Protect Ourselves and get the Care We Deserve and Need! As You can Plainly see, the Anger Phase quite quickly turns into the KNOWLEDGE Stage.

And this is the Time some of Us Hire Attorneys to Help us along this Path, and Others try and take on the System on their Own, something that soon turns into an understanding that this system is not fair, and the only way to get through this is with Help, some try and find it Here, and others try and Hire Attorney's, and Hopefully they are not too far along in the system that Attorney's can't Help, maybe too much damage has been done, or the Attorney's don't want to get involved because they don't feel they can Win, or make the Money they think they should. This is a very touchy Time in an Injured Workers Life, a Time when this can all become too Overwhelming, and Depression can Creep in, causing even More Problems to an already Injured Worker that has been batted around like a Tennis Ball for a while now. As We go through this Knowledge Stage, and try to learn and understand, and wait for the Attorney's and Courts to Iron things out Our Injuries continue, and sometimes the Pain and injury gets Worse due to lack of Care, and We step into the Frustration Stage, a Place where We spend the Most of Our Time!

Most of Us are Here, in the Frustration Stage. We have Knowledge of the system by now, We know how things should be going but they're not, and the Frustration grows along with the Depression and Pain, and Life for the Injured Worker turns into Hell, a place no one wants to be, Let alone Live in Every Day!! Some quit and accept small Settlements just to get w/c to go away, and the i/c and the System Wins, and the Injured Worker comes out on the Bad end of the Deal, and then there is the Fighters, that no matter what the i/c or w/c system throws at them they are going to Fight, and not Stop until they Win, and Get what is Rightfully Theirs! There are a Lot of Fighters on this Forum, that's why I'm Writing this in Hope's that this Helps the Fighter, if even in a small Way, to find out where they Really stand in this Process, and How to Succeed, at least the Path I'm going to take to the End, and Now We get to the toughest Section of All ACCEPTANCE!!

I haven't been on Here much lately, because I have been taking a Good Hard look at where I stand, with the New Complications in my Health, not for the Better, Med. changes because the Pain is Severe, and wondering, "How Long Can I Continue to Battle??" And then it Hit Me, out of nowhere, I can't tell You when or what caused it, but I finally Realized the Only Way I Was going to be able to Continue the Fight and Win was to Really ACCEPT My Condition and deal with it, get past the "I'm Sorry for Myself" Stage, and realize my Injuries, Deal with them, and Continue on!! I'm 45 Years Old, I Worked Hard All of My Life and Played even Harder, and was injured at the Ages of 42. My Entire Life was Turned Upside Down, My Injury has left me Disabled, and things are Heading to the Path that soon I will be in a Wheelchair, so what do I do, Live in the Past Missing the Old Me, or Grab the World by the Ass and Learn the New Me?? I Have to Learn the New Me!!

I sat by Myself the other Day, and did something I thought I never would, I took My Old Life, the Good One before the injury, and reflected on the Good Times I Had, the things I did when I could, Thanked God for allowing Me to Have these Memories, and made them just that Memories!! It's Sad to Say, but that Old Person Has Passed On, and needs to go into the Memory Section of My Mind, and I have to Learn to Live in the Body I Have Now, and make it Work!! And I'm going to, it will take Time, but I've Accepted I will not Return to the Old Me, So He has to go away, there isn't room for both of them in my Mind, and I can't Beat these those with no designated father if I'm spending my Valuable Time grieving over the Old Me!! So here I set Today, crippled and in Pain, but that's only My Body not My Mind, and it's time to get Back in the Battle, to Get What's Rightfully Mine!!!

Again I'm Sorry this is soo long, and it's taken a while for me to type, but I feel with all of My Heart, if You can find Acceptance, couple it with Patience and Understanding, ANYONE can Beat this System, and Send them Away with their Tails Between Their Legs!! I'M SURE AS HELL GOING TO!!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Microdiscectomy/Laminectomy L5/S1, 1/05. Scar Tissue filled the Herniation site, traveled through the Foranim, and totally encapsulates the S1 Nerve Root. (Totally Disabled.)

[Sithie]

Mel to my knowledge you dont have to tell the adjuster crap, they will find out when they get the bill.

[Sithie]

Mel, I just went back and reread all of your post, you have been told over and over again by many different people to get a lawyer. Tomorrow is monday, write down your questions, call as many lawyers as you can WHO SPECIALIZE IN WORKERS COMP, and schedule initial consultations. You do not want to hire the first one you see, you need to see a few, then hire the one who you think will be the best for you. Do not wait, start this process tomorrow. Until you have a lawyer who will be protecting you best interest, you are not going to get adaquit care. BE SURE to tell the lawyer how for 2 1/2 months you went through your privite insuance to get care.

Sithie

[Pooh]

Mel

I agree at this point - you do need to start looking for an attorney - and remember by your state law you do need to let your adjuster know tomorrow so that they cover the bill. It's not something you need to get stuck with.

Pain control is not a simple thing to find for some people - it's a trial and error method - and trust me - it's not a quick thing to find at times. I think for the WC doctors to find something that half way worked for me for pain relief it took about 8 months from the time of my initial injury. And from my last injury they never dealt with my pain - thank goodness that my PCP dealt with my pain that I have.

The main thing to remember is that they want you to take the meds as instructed and then tell them the meds aren't working for you - not double up on them. If you double up on them - that sends up red flags to them for some reason. Also narcotics don't treat nerve pain effectively - they say non-narcotics are the best - but then again they are now using other types of medications for nerve pain as well with non-narcotic and narcotic pain meds for break through pain. These include anti-depressants and anti-seizure medications. However, until you get to a pain management doctor or a neurologist you most likely won't see those type of medications.

As sithie stated - pain management doctors can work wonders if your willing to work the program and that means taking the medications as directed so they know whether they are working or not. Sometimes with the other medications it can take a couple of weeks to see improvement.

I understand what you are going through as I have had to detox from a med that was messing up my blood pressure and my PCP wanted me off of it for 6 months before she put me on another med to help with my pain. And no matter what type of medication you are put on you may not ever be totally pain free - sorry to say this.

[sparkey]

I could not of said it better pooh. It is exactly the way i feel Mel should get help. If Mel follows through with what we are saying it should help tremendously or however you spell it..LOL it is still taking me time to adjust my meds and it is 9 months later. It is not a overnight fix.

[jayne]

I am sorry you is in pain we all know that feeling....but just from your posts it seems stress may be making it even worse.....you simply must learn to calm yourself however that may be......I do it with meditation it takes work its not a quick fix....A lawyer will be able to send you to one of "his" doctors but be advised Docs are leary of RXing narcs...with computer controls they are watched also...my PCP Doc was sent a red flag when I filled a RX in Tulsa after surgery written by my surgeon....to many narc RXs can get them investagated if they are not a surgeon or pain doc....that is why so many WILL NOT fill a narc rx they send you to pain doc.......pain doc I went to gave a urine test before every appt.Because of my allergies my PCP in partnership with pain docs are working to control my pain.please notice I said attempt to control....its been since apr 05 I have not had ONE totally pain free day since...If you have a cervical injury the rice sock will help heat and ice is your first line....you must get a lawyer to get you thru.....and help find you a good Doc...

[capricorn]

Mel...I agree with the group. I am just starting with a PM Dr. after 17 months and really hoping he can help. I am willing to try whatever he suggests. Like Jayne I don't have a pain free day. If it's not one injured body part it's another. After my IME fiasco I have been in agony. The stress of being afraid of not knowing where I was going, why this guy kept dropping me off at the wrong place, bouncing along in a Jeep for over an hour both ways, bouncing down a city st. in a wheelchair, etc all had my stress level so high it raised my pain level also. I had some Soma and Mobic in the house that I thought would help. They didn't. I have iced and heat 5 body parts looking for relief. Today I see the PM Dr. I have been like this for a long time. The IME ws 10 days ago and has made all worse. I called the shoulder surgeon and was told by his asst. that since he hasn't prescribed pain meds for me in so long and hasn't seen me in 6 weeks ( I have a follow up appt tomorrow) that he wouldn't prescirbe pain killers even thoug I made him aware of what happened. The spine specialist I have been seeing was in surgery all day so that killed that. My Er is a nigthmare. I starte dthere when first injured and the treating Dr. lied so I wasn't going back there. Please get an attorney.
CAP